Fighting Fate
by Vegetarian Salad
Summary: NejiHina oneshots. Chapter 5, in which Hinata does the protecting.
1. Chapter 1

**Rain**

The rain is cool on her face, refreshing. It runs down her cheeks, gets caught in her eyelashes, brushes like a kiss against her lips. Her clothes cling tight against her skin, hindering her movements, making her arms awkward.

But, she does not rest. A kunoichi must be prepared to battle in any condition.

So the sound of flesh against wood continues to ring rhythmically through the clearing, accentuated by the rustling patter of rain, as her palms meet the training posts relentlessly, ruthlessly.

Part of her imagines that she is fighting herself, and her mangled hands complete the illusion, her blood staining the wood and dripping away with the water, disappearing into the grass.

Part of her knows that she _is _fighting herself, fighting against being the girl she never wants to know again. This is her remedy for her own weakness. This is her punishment for herself for not being stronger.

Her hands sting only slightly, she convinces herself. They really don't hurt as badly as she thinks they do. She's just overreacting. She is not so weak that this can stop her.

A strand of burgundy hair strikes her cheek as her head whips and she stops suddenly, as if she has been slapped. Her chest rises and falls rapidly, her breaths wheezing, and she stares at the post before her, amazed at the indentation in it that she has created with her own small hands.

She feels tired, very tired, suddenly, as if she has been running all day, and maybe she has in a way. Her heart drums dully against her ribs; her fists clench again, the stinging ache rips through her palms; with a cry, she attacks the post again savagely, refusing to give up now, when she has been working so long.

"Hinata-sama."

Her head lifts only briefly, taking in quickly her cousin standing under a black umbrella, the picture of a funeral attendant, his expression strangely different from his usual frown. Her eyes return to her training almost immediately. "Just a while longer, Neji-nii-san."

His sigh reaches her ears faintly, and a moment later, a hand halts hers. She stares down at it, startled by the contrast. His fingers are so long and flawless compared to her small bloody ones. Rain patters across his palm as he draws her under the umbrella beside him, and she shivers, realizing how cold the air truly is. "It's no use to continue training when you're out of chakra, Hinata-sama."

She shrugs into the jacket he offers her, realizing that it is much too big for her, and must be his. "I know," her voice is quiet as they begin to walk, her eyes on her feet. Her fingers hold the jacket close around her. "I just want to get stronger." Her foot catches the ground, and she stumbles, lifting her hands to block the dirt from meeting her face.

The umbrella falls with a clatter as he catches her against him, his hands on her hips as he hauls her back to her feet, letting her regain her balance. She holds tightly to him, her face pressed against his chest, and she feels as if her entire being is trembling, unable to stand alone. "You shouldn't train like this. It's unhealthy." His words vibrate through her, almost fatherly, and then his arms come around her, and that sense disappears. "You have no chakra left at all."

Her eyes lift to his reluctantly, her heart beating fast. The rain has drenched his dark hair, and it hangs dripping and stringy around her like a curtain. "Neji-nii-san?" she can't hear her own voice above the sudden rush of water as the rain falls harder. She is pressed against him, and she feels as if steam is rising from her hot wet face.

"You're strong, Hinata-sama." The words are spoken against her ear, his breath hot on her skin, his tone almost warm. "You have no reason to hate yourself like you do."

Her breath catches, her head tilted up, and water kisses lightly across her cheekbones, giggling past her to the ground. Her fists are tight in the fabric of his shirt, the only strength she has left expended in holding on to him. "Neji-nii-san, we're getting wet." It is all she can think of to say. It seems appropriate, somehow.

His white eyes blink at her, like he is coming to his senses. "Yes, I suppose we are." He stoops to retrieve the umbrella, one hand remaining steadying on her arm. In another moment, the water is rattling across the black fabric, and they are no longer at its mercy. They begin to walk, slowly, and his fingers are splayed on the small of her back, supporting her.

She finds it symbolic. Looking up into his face, she studies the stern curve of his jaw, the almost-hollow seriousness of his eyes. Without thinking, her lips form a question to which she has always afraid of the answer. "Neji-nii-san, do you still hate me?"

Surprise flickers across the stoic face, his eyes flitting to hers and quickly away. His lips purse pensively, in a way that makes it seem he wants to think harder about this than he needs to. His voice is gentle when he speaks. "I never hated you."

The rain is letting up. The sun is striving to be seen beyond the crowd of clouds. The air is cool, whispering clean and fresh through their clothes as they walk home. The umbrella is closed, swinging useless at his side, and the patter of rebel raindrops touches their heads, but they smile shyly, and their hands are swinging between them, fingers holding comfortably to each other's. The rain will never seem so bad again.


	2. Chapter 2

The day finally came that Hinata freed herself, if even only briefly, from the confines of the Hyuuga compound and its judgment. After a year of tucking her savings away, she could finally afford to rent an apartment of her own, without begging her father's approval or untying his purse-strings.

Of course, her first action after getting settled was to throw a house-warming party.

It would be nothing big, just a group of friends, with games and refreshments. She _was_ Hinata, after all; sweet and timid. Nothing could be expected of her that would be even slightly out-of-hand. Her friends intended to obey this, too, because she was Hinata, and she would probably burst into tears if anything went wrong.

So when her friends crowded around her living room to play games and munch on various snacks, they actually _did _play games and eat, laughing and teasing each other all the while. Hinata was pleasantly surprised by the turn-out, and was glad everyone was enjoying themselves.

"I know!" Ino's hand shot abruptly into the air, her voice soaring over the group. "Let's play 20 Questions! Hinata-chan, do you have any sticky notes?" After they had been retrieved, she explained the rules: "You have to write a noun on a sticky note and stick it to the forehead of the person sitting to the right of you. Then, we'll go around the room in a circle asking 'yes' or 'no' questions guessing who we are." She passed around the sticky notes, explaining the other rules, and the room fell quiet as they tried to think of their words.

Hinata frowned pensively at her cousin, who was sitting silent beside her, having already slapped the word "eyebrows" on Lee's forehead. Neji had grown tall and even more handsome, as serious and quiet as ever, but a smile formed sometimes when he looked at her, and his eyes had grown warm. She scrawled _strength_ quickly onto her note and pressed it gently to his forehead, and when his questioning gaze fell on her, she smiled softly and said, "No Byakugan." She giggled at the scowl that meant she had read his mind.

"Hinata!" Kiba grinned as he placed his own sticky note on her skin. It felt strange there, and she raised her eyebrows experimentally to make sure it wouldn't fall off.

"Okay, everyone has a word?" Ino stood up, the word _pig _showing that Sakura had chosen hers. "Hinata-chan, it's your party, so you ask the first question."

"Um," her eyes trained thoughtfully on her hands in her lap. "Am I a person?"

"No." Kiba looked to Naruto, who sat on his other side. "Am I a dog?"

"Hey! How did you guess already?" Naruto pouted.

"You mean, besides it being the most obvious thing ever?"

And so it went around the circle. Surprisingly, the people who were worst at the game were the ones Hinata thought would be the best. Neji, for example, as the last to guess his word, but then again, she had given him a difficult one. When he did figure it out, and had taken the sticky note off his forehead, he remained staring down at it for a long while, silent, until he was drawn into a different game by the group.

Hinata worried that she shouldn't have chosen that word, but the look in his eyes when he turned toward her, and the way he gripped the paper like a lifeline until his knuckles turned white, dissuaded her anxiety.

The evening ended quietly, as people shuffled out in groups of two or three, exchanging hugs and "Good night"s and whining good-naturedly about the work they had to return to come morning. Hinata smiled at them, thanking them for coming and "oof" ing with a blush when Naruto tackled her in an embrace before leaving.

She sighed happily as she closed the door behind Kiba and wandered out onto the balcony that extended form her kitchen, where Neji stood staring up at the stars. The night was warm with summer, the air still and fresh and she took a deep weary breath. "That was fun." She offered quietly.

He nodded shortly in response. "Why did Kiba give you _cookie_?"

She giggled fondly. "I make them for him sometimes, to eat after training."

He nodded again absently, looking down at the paper wrinkled in his fingers, her neat handwriting still splayed there with that single word. "Why did you give me this one?"

She watched him flatten it upon the railing, like it was a priceless scroll, a Hyuuga heirloom. "Because, to me, you _are _strength," she couldn't bring her voice above a whisper, or force her eyes to meet his. "To me, you are invincible, and you can do anything."

He was silent, and so was she. The night closed in around them, and the rustling breath of a world asleep swelled into the foreground, filling the space that had emptied of their voices. They were like statues, not moving, and she was certainly not breathing, until his fingers were pressing a piece of paper to her forehead, and he turned away toward the lights of the city.

She understood, and quietly asked, "Am I a person?"

"No."

"A place?"

"No."

"A thing?"

"Yes."

She frowned thoughtfully, eyes lifting to the stars. "Is it a kunai?"

"No."

"An apple?"

"No."

After a series of unsuccessful guesses, she asked, "Does it belong to me?"

"Yes." His tone changed slightly.

"Is it here with us?"

"Yes."

She shook her head after guessing a few more things. "Will you give me a hint, please, Neji-nii-san? I can't think of anything else."

He took her hand in his, gently, and she flushed at how warm his grip was, how perfectly her hand fit in it. Her face heated further when he pressed it to his chest. Her breath caught at the feel of his heart beating fast against her fingers, and her eyes lifted in surprise to his. "Neji –"

"You don't have to say anything, Hinata-sama." He ripped the paper off her forehead so abruptly she flinched, and crumpled it in his hand. "But you should know that-" He stopped as she pried his fingers open, taking it back.

She smiled down at the _my heart _written in a print too shaky to be his. "Don't say that I don't have to say anything." Her voice was quiet but commanding. "It would be unfair that you would get to say it if I didn't."

She felt him stiffen, but her eyes remained fastened on the two words on that paper. To her, they were the most important message ever given. A moment later, though, he was holding her close, and her hands were knotted in his shirt, and she was crying, and he was whispering that this was how it always should have been.


	3. Chapter 3

Neji looked around the door of his cousin's former bedroom, frowning at the sight of her legs sticking out of her closet. "Hinata-sama?"

She sat back on her heels, swiping the back of her hand across her forehead and gracing him with her smile. "Good morning, Neji-nii-san."

He stepped into the room, peering into her dark closet. "What are you doing?" A dozen or so dolls were lined up in a row against one white wall, lifeless eyes staring at him. He had always found their porcelain perfection a little eerie.

"Tomorrow is the Memorial for Broken Dolls." She explained, gesturing. "I've only ever broken one doll, and it was only recently in packing up to move." She leaned again into the closet, and the darkness muffled her voice. "I can't remember where I put it."

Neji crossed his arms, leaning against the folded door. "Did you throw it away?"

"I don't think so." She continued to rummage through her childhood possessions, every once in a while removing a doll to sit in the row with the rest. "I've never thrown a doll away. And this one was my favorite. I cried when I dropped her." The last sentence was said softly, as if she was ashamed of the fact.

He didn't answer, choosing instead to distrustfully eye the dolls that continued to stare at him. Ever since he met Kankurou, he didn't trust any plaything to be fully inanimate.

With a sudden victorious cry, Hinata withdrew from the closet, holding a doll gently between her small hands. She was dressed in a soft white kimono, tiny matching slippers adorning her feet. She was custom-made, with one white Hyuuga eye peering at him, dark hair framing the pale porcelain. The other eye, and half of the filled-out cheek, was missing, and he could see into the hollow head, which he found disconcerting. More strange to him, though, was that he recognized the doll.

"You gave her to me on my third birthday." Hinata said quietly, as if reading his mind, a soft smile on her lips as she looked down at her. "Your father had her made for me, and you gave her to me." A little laugh escaped her. "You were so happy that day, so proud to be giving me this gift."

His eyes softened, and he crouched beside her, examining the doll, his fingers hesitant against it. He wasn't sure if he remembered how to be gentle. "We could get her fixed." He offered in a murmur.

Hinata's head shook once, slowly, her face frowning down at her. "No." It was barely a whisper. "She was from a time that doesn't exist anymore. It would be better if she was put to rest."

Neji's heart wrenched, and he looked away. No, that time didn't exist anymore. That little boy didn't exist anymore. He was not the same person, and keeping the doll had simply been her holding onto the past. She was ready to let it go, and she should.

Her hand settled lightly on his sleeve, and she smiled gently. "Would you like to go with me?"

He smiled back.

0

Hinata laid the doll gently among the others in the shrine, gazing wistfully at the toys staring up at her as if imploring her to save them. Pressing her hands together, her index fingers against her lips, she closed her eyes and said a prayer. Was she praying for the dolls? For herself? For Neji? She didn't know. But, she supposed it was all the same anyway. Footsteps sounded beside her, and she smiled up at her cousin, who stood surveying the dolls with a frown almost of distaste. She held back a giggle. She remembered when he was a child that he had feared dolls, or any toy with eyes. She found it ironic, but knew he would deny it if she mentioned it.

"Are you ready, Hinata-sama?"

"Yes." She stood up, smiling fondly at the doll once more before she turned away, following Neji out of the shrine. "Neji-nii-san, where were you?"

He held up a bag. "I bought lunch. Shall we eat it?"

0

They returned to her apartment, and Neji situated the food on the kitchen table. Hinata noticed in his shoulders that he was tense, his muscles bunched beneath his shirt that made his movements stiff. She wondered what he could be nervous about.

"I'm going to change out of this kimono, alright, Neji-nii-san?" It was her most formal, and therefore most expensive. She always avoided eating in it, since it was that pale pink that showed every stain. She went into her bedroom, turning to close the door behind her, and when she turned back to the room, she let out a little cry.

On the bed, leaning against the pillows, sat a porcelain miniature of her. It was her exactly, down to the way her bangs swept across her forehead, down to the blue flowers embroidered in the hem of her kimono. She knelt on the bed, reaching for the doll, making sure she was real. She cradled her like a child, surprising herself with the tears welling up in her eyes.

"The other doll is in the past." Neji leaned against the doorframe. "You need one for the future."

She smiled at him. "Neji-nii-san," The doll was left nestled softly in the blankets as Hinata stood and crossed the room, pressing her wet face against his shirt. "This is for our future."


	4. Chapter 4

Note from the Author: Now, did you actually think that in my absence, I haven't been writing?

0

"Neji-san!" Sakura grabbed his arm. "You can't go in there right now."

He wrenched himself from her grip, pushing forward through the door and into his cousin's room. "Hinata-sama," his breath stuck tight in his throat, and the smell of blood and medicine hit him full-force. "Hinata-sama?"

She lay with eyes unopened, her face washed of color, dark hair splayed across her pillow. Her thin hands rested at her sides, each with its own IV piercing her skin. She looked so small wrapped in the white of the hospital gown, pressed beneath the light blanket.

He sank into the chair beside the bed, watching her still, sleeping face.

"Neji-san," Sakura's voice was soft behind him, as if she were afraid to wake the comatose girl. "Please, you can't be here right now. If–"

"I'm not leaving." He interrupted fiercely, turning a dangerous glare on the medic-nin. "I'm not leaving her alone here." _Do you know how scared she must be? _His fist clenched angrily.

She had _trusted _him. She had trusted him to protect her, and he hadn't been able to. He hadn't been smart enough to realize that she would be ambushed, he hadn't been fast enough to reach her, he hadn't been strong enough to save her.

His fingernails dug into his palm, and his head bent, his teeth gritting furiously. The only thing he lived for was to protect her. It was his only duty, and he couldn't do it right.

"Neji-san," Sakura's voice was hesitant, quiet. "I'll let you stay for a little while, alright?"

As she left she closed the door gently behind her. He figured she knew he wasn't going anywhere.

0

"Neji-nii-san," a hand was nestled in his hair, and a weak giggle sounded above him. "Neji-nii-san, my legs are falling asleep."

His head lifted abruptly from Hinata's lap, and he shot to his feet, staring at her through tired eyes. "Hinata-sama, you're awake."

She smiled gently, and he tried to ignore the gash in her lip that stretched with the movement. "Your arm is broken?"

He blinked down at the sling as if he didn't know it was there. "It's nothing." He shook his head, leaning over her. "How do you feel?"

"Sakura-san and Tsunade-sama say I'll make a full recovery." She cupped his cheek in her tiny hand, which was unusually cold. "You look very tired. Why don't you go home and rest?"

He grasped her hand. "I'm not leaving here without you, Hinata-sama." He sank back into his chair. "I'm sorry. I couldn't protect you like I should have."

She shook her head. "Neji-nii-san, it's not your fault at all. You did what you could." Her fingers squeezed his reassuringly. "If it wasn't for you, I wouldn't have even survived." She leaned forward, lifting his face with her hands. "Don't be hard on yourself," she said softly. "I'll heal much more quickly if you are smiling."

He kissed her softly. "I promise I won't leave."


	5. Chapter 5

Note from the Author: Role reversal YES.

0

Hinata was surrounded, which was not a particularly unusual circumstance. What _was _strange about it was that her teammates were nowhere to be found, so she was _alone _and surrounded. But, she was a Hyuuga. She was adept at making the best of bad situations.

"_Byakugan_!" There were fifteen of them in the nearby trees around her; further off, there were five more ready to offer assistance. Nowhere did she see the familiar chakra signals of Kiba, Shino, and Akamaru. Inwardly, she was angry, but she remained visibly calm, watching as the enemy shinobi closed in on her, knowing that her capture was inevitable.

She knew it, too. There was nothing to be done now except wait. Fighting would only result in her immediate death. With this, she might be able to get information and escape later. So she braced herself and waited, knowing that she was simply a prisoner of war.

Of course, the sudden choked cries of falling shinobi was unexpected and unwelcome, except to her. With attention suddenly focused away from her, she leapt into the trees, around and toward the ensuing battle. She was surprised to find an ANBU was the cause of the turmoil, but was less than surprised when she realized with one.

She descended beside him. "Orders!" she cried, slamming her palm into the chest of an oncoming enemy ninja.

"Leave this to me and find your teammates, Hinata-sama." His black hair whipped around as he spun to take down someone creeping up behind him. His voice was muffled through his mask. "They are waiting to the south."

She stared at him, surprised, before nodding. "Yes, sir!" she fled the battle, dashing through the treetops. She kept her fingers crossed, tossing repeated glances over her shoulder. _Be safe. _

0

"Kiba-kun, Shino-kun!" she landed on the branch beside them crouching to catch her breath. "Did-did you find any information on our target?"

Kiba nodded. "Yeah, and we located him. If we get there now, we can ambush him."

She looked up, startled. "But what about N-?" she caught herself, remembering ANBU etiquette in which names become anonymous. "We can't leave him to fight alone."

"He'll be fine. He's Captain, after all." Kiba grinned, winking. "We'll catch up with him later. Come on."

Reluctantly, she nodded and followed after her teammates. Looking back over her shoulder, her eyes were met with the resonating _boom _of an explosion. She caught herself against a tree and spun around, screaming, "_Neji_!"

In half a second, she was going back, not caring about her teammates, not caring about the target, not caring about anything but Neji and the fact that he might be in danger. The mission could wait; Neji's wellbeing came first.

0

The area to which she returned was basically a giant crater, the work of several hundred explosive tags detonating at once. It was an ANBU tactic, used in a situation that there was no getting out alive. The battle must have taken a turn for the worse, and Neji had to do what he could to take as many ninja as possible with him, to prevent them following her team.

Bodies littered the area, still twitching with the last movements of death, and Hinata stepped carefully around them, frowning despairingly as she realized none of them were the person she was looking for. Something crunched beneath her sandal, and she looked down, gasping when she recognized Neji's mask. It was broken in two, crushed now where her foot had met it, and she bent down, picking it up delicately and holding it to her heart. "Neji," her voice was a whisper.

"Well, it looks like a little kitten got lost on the way home." She looked up sharply, meeting the eyes of a Mist ninja, who was holding a kunai in one hand, pointed in her direction, a malicious smile on his face. "Let me help you find your way." He threw it at her, but it was deflected by a shuriken, embedding itself in a tree. He growled, glaring at the shinobi who had interfered.

Neji pulled himself to his feet, dark hair falling loose over his shoulders, his breath coming heavy. "You won't-hurt H-Hinata-sama."

A smile broke across her face. "Neji-nii-san, you're alive!"

"Not for long," the Mist ninja snapped, aiming several shuriken in his direction.

"Neji!" Hinata threw herself in front of him, deflecting them with her own kunai. Her brow furrowed, weapon lifted defensively, determination scrawled in a grimace across her mouth. "You won't hurt _him_!"

"Hinata-sama," Neji coughed. "You should get out of here. There are more shinobi nearby and –"

"Neji-nii-san," she interrupted, smiling over her shoulder at him. "I'm not leaving here without you."


End file.
